Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Takes Position in American States Water Company $AWR

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 22,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,898,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in American States Water in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of American States Water during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of American States Water by 113.6% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of American States Water in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American States Water in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American States Water news, Director Anne M. Holloway sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total value of $79,974.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,422,709.48. This represents a 2.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

American States Water Stock Up 2.7%

AWR opened at $90.99 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.99. American States Water Company has a 1-year low of $69.45 and a 1-year high of $91.11. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $181.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.72 million. American States Water had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that American States Water Company will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.5455 dividend. This is an increase from American States Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. American States Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on AWR shares. Weiss Ratings raised American States Water from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research lowered American States Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded American States Water to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American States Water presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

American States Water Profile

American States Water Company (NYSE: AWR), founded in 1929 and headquartered in San Dimas, California, is a publicly traded utility holding company. The company operates primarily through two regulated segments—water and electric utilities—and provides non-regulated water system services. Over its history, American States Water has expanded its footprint through strategic acquisitions and organic growth, positioning itself as a reliable provider of essential services in its core territories.

Within its regulated water utility segment, American States Water serves more than 250,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across 35 communities in six counties of California.